Love Is Blind
by Connie Welsh
Summary: ABANDONED Draco, to everyone's surprise, has joined the side of The Light. But when he loses his sight in a battle, Hermione is the only one who still believes in him. Can she help him believe in himself? DMHG, pre DH.
1. Dreaded News

**Summery:** Draco, to everyone's surprise, has joined the side of The Light. But when he loses his sight in a battle, Hermione is the only one who still believes in him. Can she help him believe in himself? DM/HG, pre DH.

**Disclaimer:** Oh give me a break; do you really think if I owned Harry Potter I would be here? Dude, I'd be in New Zealand with all my profits by now…

**A/N:** Just a little plot bunny I'm playing with. I may or may not finish it or get it done in a timely fashion for that matter, depending on how soap-opera-ish it starts to get further in. But it begged to be written, and the plot bunny was just so cute that I had to take it in and start writing it. I'm a sucker for cuteness…

Chapter 1  
Dreaded News

"Might not live…"

"Narcissa will be heartbroken…"

Hermione listened fearfully to what she could catch of the conversation a few beds away.

"How'd it happen?"

"No one seems to know…"

"Poor boy…"

The fearful conversations ended abruptly, and Hermione strained her ears to listen, her own heartbeat the only other sound she could hear.

A crisp, emotionless voice addressed the professors, and she knew it was the specialist from St. Mungo's talking.

"He'll live," there were several sighs of relief, "but I'm afraid he'll never see again."

Hermione felt as if her heart, which had been pounding so loudly only moments ago, seemed to stop for a moment as she absorbed this shocking news. A murmur of conversation broke out amongst the teachers, but Dumbledore's voice could be heard above the rest, "Is there nothing that can be done?"

The babble died down as everyone listened intently for the answer.

The specialist sighed wearily before answering, "No, I'm afraid not. He didn't lose his eyes, thankfully, but I'm afraid the eternal damage irreversible."

There was silence for a moment as the weight of this hit everyone.

Hermione scrunched her eyes shut tight, burying herself deeper into the crisp sheets of the bed in the hospital wing, fighting the wave of guilt that was threatening to consume her.

_It's all my fault,_ she thought, _it's all my fault…_

**A/N:** I realize that this chapter is unusually short, not even a page long, and I apologize, but I felt that it was a decent cliffhanger to leave you with, get you thinking exactly how it's Hermione's fault and all. As always, reviews are most appreciated. Cheers.


	2. Deaf Apologizes

**A/N:** To revelyn, my one and only reviewer, thank you for reviewing, firstly, and secondly, my apologies once again. Another short chapter, sorry. I hope you like it though.

Chapter 2  
Deaf Apologies

"I'm so sorry," Hermione whispered softly to the still form in the bed beside her, knowing that her apology fell on deaf ears, "I'm so, so sorry. This is all my fault. If you hadn't…"

Hermione stopped as tears threatened to overcome her again, and she closed her eyes, demanding that she gain control of herself.

She had wept over him for the past three days, consumed by her grief and guilt.

_Get a hold of yourself Hermione!_ She thought furiously, wiping the tears hurriedly away before they could fall, _Don't be such a child!_

Hermione sat and collected herself, taking deep breaths and forcing the tears away. Finally she managed to look back to him, see him lying in the hospital bed with his arms and eyes bandaged, a fallen soldier.

"Why did you do that?" she finally managed to squeak, "Why did you sacrifice yourself for me? Why?"

Of course, there was no reply, and Hermione fell into the memories again, her heart restricting tightly as it always did when she allowed herself to think about any of the battles they'd fought…

_Hermione quickly reflected the curse fired at her, and returned it with one of her own. The scream from the Death Eater she had hit sent chills of terror down her spine as she battled beside her fellows, the air thick with spells and the smell of blood._

_For only a moment did she pause, looking around in terror at the horrors of war._

_A moment was all it took._

"_Look out!" came a cry from near her, and the next thing she knew she was being shoved to the ground, out of the way._

_But the scream of pain from her rescuer terrified her, chilled her to the bone and froze her where she lay on the ground…_

…And the screams didn't stop. The screams of agony continued, but Hermione couldn't bring herself to look up. To terrified, to exhausted… sleep…

And now she was filled with guilt; guilt and fury at her cowardice. She could have saved him, if she had only looked up and acted!

Furiously she clenched her hands, digging her nails into her palm.

"I'll repay you for your sacrifice," she whispered, "I don't know how, but I swear to all the great wizards from Merlin to Dumbledore that I'll find a way."

**A/N:** The chapters will eventually get at least a bit longer, that I can promise. Reviews please! Cheers.


	3. Lost in the Dark

Chapter 3  
Lost in the Dark

Draco laid still, his whole body in a dull ache. Weakly he tried to open his eyes, but found that he couldn't. His arms felt as though they were filled with lead as he managed to bring them up to his face, feeling the bandages around his eyes.

"So…" came a familiar voice to his right, "the sleeping beauty finally wakes."

Draco dropped his arms back at his sides, and managed a soft grin, "Glad to… erm, hear you too Severus."

"Sarcasm," the professor sighed, "you must be feeling better."

Draco laughed softly, but even in his darkness he could hear that his godfather was relieved that he was awake.

"I'm in the hospital wing I assume?" Draco asked.

"You assume correct," was the short reply.

Draco was silent for a moment, trying to judge the injuries he had acquired.

"What potion did they give me?" he asked finally, "I can barely move."

"An extremely strong painkiller," Severus informed him, "I won't bother you with the name, you won't recognize it. They put a powerful salve on your burns and bandages of course, which could account for any immobility. Again, I won't bother you with an unfamiliar name."

"That bad off, am I?" Draco asked, trying to keep his voice light, though inside he squirmed with impatiens at the state of his body, "Severus?" he asked when there was no reply, and he turned his head in the direction of where Severus's voice had come from.

"I'm here boy," he replied, then sighed heavily.

"Don't you dare lie to me Severus," Draco told him seriously, "I'll find out at one point or another anyway. Now how bad off am I?"

There was a pause, and Draco listened intently. When his godfather spoke, he was surprised to find his voice heavy with sorrow.

"Your arms and some of your torso are burned," came the sad voice of his professor, "though not so badly that they won't heal well. With magical aid of course, but they'll heal. You'll have light scaring around your eyes, for they were burnt pretty badly. And…"

He paused, and Draco asked impatiently, "And what?"

"And…" Severus paused again before speaking, "and you'll never see again."

A suffocating silence filled the air as Draco absorbed this.

"I'll…" he began, but found that his mouth had become quite dry, he licked his lips, then whispered softly, "you mean I'm blind?"

"Yes," Severus said heavily, and Draco heard the rustle of his robes as he got up to leave.

"Wait!" Draco cried, biting back a yelp of pain as he hurriedly tried to sit up, "how…" he faltered, wondering briefly how his professor would react to his question, "how's Granger?"

There was a pause before the clipped reply reached his ears, "Depressed, but physically fine."


End file.
